A popular Catholic priest and former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, has berated the current president of the Christian body, Ayo Oritsejafor, for his excessive identification with politicians, especially immediate-past President Goodluck Jonathan.
The respected cleric, who was at a time the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, made this known in an interview with online medium, Premium Times.
According to Okogie, many religious leaders were now struggling for power in “unrighteous ways”, which he said had made them to lose respect.
He said: “My brother, I must tell you this; CAN leadership today is zero. CAN has no leader.
“Thank God you are talking to one of the founders of CAN, and I was there as their leader for eight years. Then, the whole country knew that CAN had a leader, not by my own might, but by God. Because what we were doing then, we had only one voice. But the problem we have now is that people are struggling for power in unrighteous way. And because he is struggling for power, he can do little or nothing.
“And we didn’t buy the position. But this time around, because they are rushing to be in power, nobody obeys them. And look at how they are making mockery of themselves and making mockery of “religion”. Is that religion? Today, they are with the federal government. We saw the writing on the wall when we left. The very first person that took over started romancing with Obasanjo. Then one or two CAN presidents tried their best before it got to this present CAN president, Oritsejafor. This is not right. Look at how Oritsejafor has fallen, from grace to grass.”
Okojie also accused Oritsejafor of inordinate ambition, wondering how a man of God of Oritsejafor’s calibre allowed himself be dragged into the imbroglio of $9.3 million arms deal funds that was seized by South African authorities.
Adding that, “They are ready with their moneybags. Where did they get the money from? Where did they get the $9.3m that has been seized by South Africa from? They said it was to buy arms. We have to be very careful in this nation. What is the man (Oritsejafor) looking for? If you call yourself a man of God, then you should rely on God. Why should he be jumping up and down? But because he was not elected, not chosen by God, that is what is happening. Today, he wants to build a university, tomorrow he wants to be something else, next tomorrow he wants to be like other people.”
Also, he described Oritsejafor as a sinking ship that could take the ex-president with him.
“And he is not going down alone; he is also staining the name of the Head of State. Of course, why not? If you eat with those with dirty hands, then you must be dirty,” Okogie stressed.